Ken Berry
| Ken Berry | |
|---|---|
| Born | Kenneth Ronald Berry November 3, 1933 Moline, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor/Singer/Dancer |
| Years active | 1960–present |
| Spouse | Jackie Joseph (1960-1977) |
Kenneth Ronald "Ken" Berry (born November 3, 1933) is an American dancer, comedic actor and singer. He began on stage as a dancer and later starred in television sitcoms.
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[edit] Life and career
Berry was born in Moline, Illinois.[1] He made his television debut on Arlene Francis' Soldier Parade, when he was serving in the United States Army during the Korean War. After winning Ms. Francis' talent contest, he was invited to appear on Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town (which later evolved into The Ed Sullivan Show). Berry's army sergeant was Leonard Nimoy, who urged him to return to California after the war for television auditions. Following his discharge in 1955, Berry performed with the Billy Barnes Revues in the 1950s and early 1960s. In the late 1950s, Berry appeared as a hotel bellhop named Woody in CBS's The Ann Sothern Show. During the 1960-1961 season, he guest starred with Pat O'Brien on ABC's sitcom, Harrigan and Son.
Cast as a semi-regular practitioner on NBC's Dr. Kildare and as a choreographer on episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show, Berry attracted the attention of Hollywood producers. In 1966, he was chosen to portray Captain Wilton Parmenter on ABC's F Troop. Berry's grace and agility allowed him to perform choreographed pratfalls over hitching posts, sabers, and trash cans as the accident-prone Captain Parmenter. He is noted for his dancing agility in one particular episode of the western, in which he walks down a boardwalk witlessly avoiding 13 hazards. He was primed as the future heir-apparent Sam Jones on the eighth and final season of The Andy Griffith Show, thus inheriting the sequel series Mayberry R.F.D.. As the new head resident of Mayberry RFD from 1968 to 1971, Berry successfully assumed the reins from Sheriff Andy Taylor Andy Griffith. For six years, Berry played the slow-witted Vinton Harper on Mama's Family, a spinoff of the Carol Burnett Show.
In 1972, Berry co-starred with Carol Burnett in the CBS special "Once Upon A Mattress". The same year, he had his own summer replacement series, The Ken Berry 'Wow' Show. In 1973 Sherwood Schwartz wrote a Brady Bunch spin-off called Kelly's Kids, which featured Berry as the adoptive father of three diverse boys (white, black and Asian). The pilot failed to interest ABC, but the concept was revived later in Diff'rent Strokes and Webster. A favorite guest on The Carol Burnett Show in the 1970s, Berry was chosen to star in the spin-off Mama's Family, featuring the dysfunctional Harper clan. Berry called his time on F Troop "two years of recess", and has referred to the idyllic Mayberry as "America's 'Brigadoon'".
Series writers used his "trouper" talents in stories around church revues and talent contests. On the 1970 Mayberry RFD installment "The Charity", he and co-star Paul Hartman did a soft shoe dance together. Berry would sometimes end an RFD show on the porch at dusk, serenading others with such songs as "Carolina Moon". On a Little House on the Prairie installment, Berry played a nimble clown and circus manager, in a story that dealt with Nels Oleson's shame of an obese sister. He appeared on The Golden Girls as Rose Nylund's (Betty White's) high school sweetheart, Thor Anderson in the show's seventh season. From the mid-1970s to the early 1980s Berry was a spokesman in commercials for Kinney Shoes, singing and dancing to the "Great American Shoe Store" jingle.
Berry's film credits include, Wake Me When the War Is Over, Hello Down There and the Disney motion pictures Herbie Rides Again, and The Cat from Outer Space.
[edit] Off screen
After Mama's Family ended, Berry continued to perform/tour for a few more years in stage shows such as George M! and The Music Man. In 2002, actress Betty White (who played his sister, Ellen, on Mama’s Family) said: "I'm a great Ken Berry booster. He's one of THE most versatile, and personable talents I've known."
Berry married actress Jackie Joseph on May 29, 1960. They had met when they both performed with Billy Barnes. Berry and his wife adopted two children, but divorced in 1977.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Ken Berry at the Internet Movie Database
- Ken Berry at AllRovi
